Rape-bid cries hit police wall

A kidnap and now a rape attempt in Kankerbagh have sent police force into a tizzy.

The state police headquarters has reacted sharply to the rape attempt on a sales girl, who was thrown from a moving car in a partial nude state, near the MIG quarters around 12.30am on Friday.

Inspector-general (weaker section) Arvind Pandey on Friday said he directed officers to probe the incident thoroughly and take the matter seriously.

“It is a serious case. We have contacted the person who saved the girl. Directions have been issued to the station house officer of Kankerbagh police station to ensure that a woman constable records and videographs the girl’s statement by Friday,” the IG said.

He added: “This case cannot be ignored because it concerns the safety of women in Patna.”

The incident occurred around 12.30am on Friday when one Rajnish Kumar, who lives in flat number 101 at the MIG quarters in Kankerbagh, heard the girl crying.

Rajnish, a primary school teacher in Aurangabad, said: “I was in Patna with my wife for personal work. My two brothers live in Kankerbagh. We had dinner and were about to sleep when we heard a girl crying and the sound of a car speeding away. The girl was pleading for help. We rushed to the balcony and saw her. Her clothes were tattered and she was terrified. We took her inside the house and my wife offered her clothes. We then informed the police.”

Rajnish said initially the girl was reluctant to call the police but they didn’t have a choice.

“The police arrived immediately and took the girl with them. She was too frightened to reveal the matter to us but said that a man in the car had offered her lift from Karbigahiya end of Patna Junction. She had gone there for work but got late. She was unable to find a public transport. She must have been sexually assaulted by the driver and when she raised an alarm, he pushed her out and fled,” the teacher said.

Arun Kumar Gupta, the station house officer of Kankerbagh, however, denied that the girl was assaulted.

“Nothing of this sort has happened. The sales girl lives near AN College. She got late and a person had dropped her near Shalimar (in Kankerbagh). She did not tell us anything but after instructions from senior police officers, a woman officer will record her statement formally on Friday. Action will be initiated accordingly,” the officer said.

Gupta, however, failed to explain why the driver dropped the girl in Kankerbagh instead of AN College, which is around 5km away. When asked why haven’t the police traced the car, an officer said: “Till the girl lodges a complaint we cannot initiate an action.”

Kankerbagh was recently in the news after the police gave chase a car whose driver was allegedly kidnapping a college girl.

The police later claimed that the girl inside the car was eloping with the person who was driving the car because they were in touch with each other for a while now. The police are yet to track down the couple but they said they have leads that the duo have left the city.